Blueberry Boy Bait

Mother's Day was so incredible this year. While the weather turned out to be a gloomy, chilly day, I was so pleased and touched at the amount of effort that both my kids and most especially my husband put into ensuring that I enjoyed a wonderful day. On Saturday afternoon while Lucy napped, Paul took Emma and Matthew out to do some "planning" for Mother's Day, a gift in itself because it allowed me the opportunity to take a much-needed nap while they were out in an effort to get rid of a cold that began bugging me at the end of the week.

On their outing, as related to me by Paul the next day, they went to several stores where Paul tried to gently guide the selections of the children regarding the food, drink, and presents for Mother's Day. First, he took them to the grocery store and instructed them to think of something "that Mommy loves to eat for breakfast." Emma came up with the idea of a "rainbow fruit salad" and Matthew, who also loves fruit, was very much on board with this. The two of them went about selecting a little of every fruit in the produce section - melons, peaches, kiwi, strawberries, mangoes, and grapes. Paul drew the line when Matthew tried to sneak a whole coconut into the cart, insisting "Mommy loves coconut!" Very true, but Daddy certainly does not love the process of breaking one open.

Next, they moved on to selecting the main course for breakfast. Matthew insisted that I love nothing more than the Egg McMuffin sandwiches at McDonald's, which everyone knows is my favorite restaurant (extreme sarcasm here). Bottom line is, Matthew really enjoys those sandwiches so he found the sausage, muffins, cheese, and eggs and the breakfast was planned. Paul also ensure that we had some good coffee beans on hand. And Bourbon Cream.

Next, Paul took the kids through several stores in search of a gift. The kids were really into this part of the errand and frowned and disagreed with nearly every single one of Paul's suggestions. Finally, while perusing a popular department store, Matthew stopped short at the mannequin display at the front of the Misses section and gazed up at the gorgeous purple floral taffeta dress the middle figure was showcasing. Instantly, both him and Emma decided that I had to have that dress.

Paul told them to look for a small in the racks - "Look for an S on the tag, Matthew!" Matthew desperately searched through the racks, but could only find "a size s" in the blue pattern. He really thought I'd love those purple flowers. Not to be defeated, Paul checked the size of the dress on the mannequin and, sure enough, it was a small. So, Paul, Matthew, and Emma - in front of the entire store - stripped the mannequin of that beautiful dress and bought it as a gift for me. And I loved it. It is so beautiful and fits like a glove. I felt so loved.

The kids also picked out cards for me and signed them proudly with their names. Each card selected displayed the individual personalities of the each child, but Emma's was particularly perfect.

Matthew also gave me a Marigold that he grew at school for me. So beautiful and he was SO proud.

Anyway, Paul worked so hard all day to cook me breakfast (with a little bit of help from the kids) as well as grill some Tri-tip steak for dinner. Since it was cold, we just chilled inside and I was feeling a bit under the weather anyway so the rest was appreciated. We took the puppy for a walk together when the sun finally made an appearance in the evening. Later, we enjoyed ice cream cones and a slice of Blueberry Boy Bait.

Paul tempted me with bakery cakes and pie for my Mother's Day dessert, but I do love to bake and told him that a simple cake incorporating fruit somehow would be perfect. I turned to an old recipe I had for Blueberry Boy Bait, a recipe named by the 15-year-old winner of the 1954 Pillsbury Bakeoff for the extreme effect this rich, buttery, blueberry-studded treat had on boys. After eating it a few times, there is no doubt in my mind that this treat is irresistible to not only boys, but girls, babies, and even Golden Retriever puppies, as evidenced by how badly my dog was drooling at my feet as I popped this out of its pan to cool. A simple cake to make since it uses no special ingredients or laborious techniques, it can be enjoyed both as a dessert with ice cream or whipped cream or as a wonderful accompaniment to coffee in the morning. Fantastic. The perfect, sweet ending to a wonderful day spent with my beautiful family.

Blueberry Boy Bait
from Cook's Country

For the Cake:
2 cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not defrost)

For the Topping:
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (again, do not defrost)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, a couple of minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; followed by half of the milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Scatter blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in he center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)